The firm said it had been awarded about $50 million in contracts in Egypt in February, a month when political turmoil had disrupted much of the economy, and would submit bids for several large infrastructure and road projects in coming weeks.

New awards totaled $550 million in the fourth quarter and $2.62 billion in all of 2010, with infrastructure work making up 63 percent of the total new awards during the year.

OCI said its construction backlog fell 15.5 percent in 2010 to $5.62 billion, with infrastructure work making up 59 percent of the backlog.

It said its fertiliser units in Egypt continued to produce as normal despite disruptions caused by political unrest.

"We expect fertiliser prices to remain healthy during 2011 with prices fluctuating based on regular seasonal variations in demand," chairman and chief executive officer Nassef Sawiris said in a statement accompanying the results.

The firm's fertiliser group sold over 1 million tonnes of nitrogen-based fertilisers during the quarter and about 3.7 million tonnes during the year, it said.